It's hard to believe that my vacation is more than half over. But it is. And so far, I've had a relaxing time going out and about as Marian, leaving Mario behind when possible. People who need to see my identification tend not to bat an eye when I'm presenting paperwork that identifies me as being Mario, when I'm out as Marian.
Why is this so important? Not having to worry about what people will think of me has allowed me to grow as a person. The woman inside me has been freed to explore the world on her terms.
But I digress....
I have had to present both my cruise ID card and my passport card (I could have used my drivers license instead) almost every time I have come back from a shore excursion. Being transgender is not a big deal - especially in Hawaii. On this ship, I'm being seen as the female I'm displaying to the world. And this is a great experience for me.
With my face, I always have to go out with my makeup on. But once applied, people are seeing me as female. But I am still forced to do code switching, turning my relationships with women to relationships with men when discussing my past in general conversation. If people see me adjusting my wig, I mention that I have alopecia, but never mention that it is male pattern alopecia. Ideally, I will get partial facial feminization surgery, so that I can go out and about without makeup as long as I have my wig on.
Yet, I still digress....
Today was an excursion to the Volcanoes National Park. Like yesterday, weather played a part in how I would enjoy this trip. It was in the high 70's when we left the ship, with more than a significant chance of rain. And it did rain on the way to the park. One bus had to get unstuck from the mud on the road, and we ended up passing that bus so that we could get to the park on time.
I had forgotten my rain poncho before I left my cabin, so I ended up buying a cheap poncho at the park's visitor center. When I put it on, I realized I was going to deal with one problem many transgender women have: Keeping my wig in place while putting the poncho on is where I had to be careful, as I didn't want to advertise that I was wearing a wig.
Once my poncho was on, it was off to the Sulfur Springs Trail. It was much more comfortable to walk in the drizzle when wearing the poncho, and I made it halfway on the trail. It was interesting to see sulfur on the rocks, along with the steam coming from the vents with a distinctive sulfur smell.
Next, we were off to see the volcanic crater pictured in the video above. Although we couldn't see much, it was an interesting sight. I only wish that it wasn't raining so that I'd have had a better view.
This was the second time where the weather got in the way of enjoying a view of nature. I guess this means that I will need to come back to Hawaii again to see these sights.....
